1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact strip, and particularly to a contact strip for a Ball Grid Array (BGA) electrical connector, wherein the contact strip is provided with a means for saving plating liquid during plating of the conductive contacts thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 4, a prior art contact strip for a BGA electrical connector (not shown) comprises a plurality of contacts 1, a contact carrier 2 and a corresponding number of links 3 connecting respective contacts 1 to the contact carrier 2 via a neck portion 31 of the link 3. When the contacts 1 are inserted into a housing (not shown) of the connector, the contact carrier 2 is bent away from the contacts 3 from the connection between the contacts 1 and corresponding necks 31. Each contact 1 comprises a soldering portion 12 for attaching a solder ball (not shown) thereto for soldering to a printed circuit board (not shown) and a contact portion 11 for engaging with a pin of a CPU (not shown). The contact portions 11 are plated with an expensive precious metal for increasing the current carrying capacity and reducing resistance of mated connections with pins of the CPU. However, the liquid precious metal may be wicked onto the links 3 and onto the contact carrier 2 during plating, thereby wasting precious metal plating, increasing the cost of the electrical connector.
Hence, an improved contact strip for a BGA electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.